


Applejack Tales

by aumontalc



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-05
Updated: 2016-11-05
Packaged: 2018-08-29 06:52:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 16,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8479474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aumontalc/pseuds/aumontalc
Summary: My collection of stories based off Tumblr prompts.





	1. April's Old Flame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oneshot prompt: April and Jackson accidentally bump into her first love who happens to be extremely sweet and handsome and who seems as if he's still carrying the torch for April. April seems flirty/flattered, Jackson gets insanely jealous. Bonus points if said jealousy entails childish fits/ antics.

"April? April Kepner, is that you?" called a man in jeans and a checkered shirt. The tall, lanky man crossed the street with a huge smile on his face.

"Oh my gosh, Daniel!" April gushed, running to give him a hug.

Her husband, Jackson, watched uncomfortably as the other man squeezed his wife tightly. After a few seconds of watching the spectacle, he cleared his throat loudly. April backed away from the other man, still smiling.

"Jackson, this is Daniel Conrad. Daniel, this is Jackson," April said, introducing the two men.

Daniel shook Jackson's hand and smiled. Jackson upturned his lips as much as he possibly could in the situation, but felt compelled to add, "I'm her husband."

The other man looked a little taken aback at his words. "Oh, I didn't know you had gotten married. Congratulations. Although, I'm a little surprised. I thought you would have honored our engagement. You did promise to wait for me to finish middle school. Much to my surprise and sorrow, I entered high school without a wife by my side."

April laughed. "Come on, it was 2nd grade. You couldn't expect me to wait 6 years for you."

Jackson looked at the two of them like they were crazy. "I don't think I understand. How do you two know each other?"

April looked in his direction and said, "We were in 4H together. I showed pigs and Daniel showed calves. We went to a lot of shows together. Lots of good memories."

"I'll say. One time she was so happy that she'd won first place that she planted one on me. First kiss, you never forget that."

By this point, April was turning a rosy pink which Jackson wasn't too thrilled about. It was time for this clown to leave. "I hate to break up your trip to memory lane, but we've got to get to work. I know how much it bothers you to be late, babe."

April nodded her head. "You're right. We've got to go, but I think we should have dinner some time. Are you going to be here for a few days?"

"Until Sunday."

"Great. How about dinner tomorrow night?"

"Sounds good to me. It'll be nice to catch up."

April smiled, "It will. I am so glad I ran into you, Daniel."

* * *

As they walked towards the hospital, Jackson asked, "So what was that? Who is that guy?"

The blush that should only be for him returned to her cheeks again. "Well, Daniel was kind of my first love growing up. He moved away in 7th grade so we never dated or anything, but I don't know…maybe we would have if he had stayed."

Jackson didn't like to think about the fact that his wife could have ended up with someone other than him. He tried to keep his jealousy on the inside and had succeeded pretty well while she was with Matthew, but he didn't know if he could this time around.

"I guess I'll find out more about you two when we have dinner tomorrow."

April came to an abrupt halt and began to sputter, "Wait…wh..what are you talking about?"

Jackson's eyes met his wife's. "You didn't think I was gonna let you have dinner alone with your old flame who by the way still seems totally into you. Did you?"

April laughed and hit him on the arm. "Are you being serious? I'm your wife. I love you. There's no reason to be jealous."

"Good. You can prove that there's no reason to be jealous tomorrow night at the restaurant."

April rolled her eyes. "Fine."

* * *

"And then you chased my pig all the way to the end of the road and saved him from becoming bacon on the highway. You were my knight in shining armor," April said, reminiscing.

"Anything for my girl, you know," Daniel replied.

Jackson took another swig of his beer. They hadn't even ordered their food yet and he was already annoyed.

"Ooh that strawberry spinach salad looks so good!" April said, looking at her menu.

Jackson's eyes quickly scanned the ingredients. "You can't have that, honey. It's got feta in it."

"Aw, rats," April pouted.

Daniel stared at them in confusion. "Are you allergic to cheese or something? I just remember growing up how you ate string cheese like all the time…"

"No, no, it's not that," April reassured. "It's just a dietary re…"

"We're having a baby," Jackson said, interjecting. "And pregnant women can't eat soft cheeses like feta because they're made from unpasteurized milk. Remembering all the foods is kind of a hassle, but there are some nice perks to having a pregnant wife. After the first trimester, it was like April wanted to do it any time, any place. I mean, if i had known it would be like this, I would have gotten her pregnant a lot sooner. But it's something for you to look forward to when you get your own wife."

"Oh," Daniel replied softly, shocked by the other man's bold declaration.

Jackson winced as he felt a swift kick against his shin. The look on April's face showed she was clearly not amused.

Fortunately, the waiter returned at that moment to take their orders. Jackson knew he sounded like an ass but he hadn't been able to stop himself. Here was this tall, good-looking man who clearly still held a torch for April. And April seemed flattered by his attention. She was laughing and smiling at this man far too much to be acceptable. He didn't like it and wished the man would get back on his horse or cow or pig or whatever hell animal he liked to ride and get the hell out of Seattle.

"Well, congratulations on the baby. That's great news."

"Thanks," April replied. "So tell me are you seeing anyone?"

"Off and on. No one that I really wanted to hitch myself to for the rest of my life. I just haven't met another girl like that. You know, you kind of ruined other girls for me."

April took the other man's hand in her own and smiled sympathetically. "You will. You've got everything a girl could want…looks, personality, smarts, and you're just an incredibly kind and sweet man. Any girl would be lucky to have you."

Damn, Jackson thought, why didn't they just run off into the sunset? This whole conversation was making him uncomfortable. He decided to do the one thing he knew would turn April's attention back to him.

Scooting closer to his wife, he dropped his left hand down to her knee. He began to slowly move it up her thigh, pushing her skirt out of the way, and then back down. Her eyes flickered to his and he just grinned. There was nothing she could do at this point. Asking him to stop or reaching down to swat his hand away would attract too much attention plus he could tell by the look in her eyes that she was enjoying it just as much as he was.

April's breathing came in ragged bursts and her face became flushed. She was struggling to focus on the conversation. Finally, she excused herself to go to the ladies' room.

With just him and Daniel left at the table, the conversation had come to a screeching halt. Finally, the other man commented, "You don't like me, do you?"

"Nope," Jackson replied honestly. "I'm not really a fan of men who flirt with my wife."

"It's just flirting. April would never cheat. She's not that kind of girl. That's why I fell for her so hard. But I understand that what we had was in the past."

"Good," Jackson said, taking another swig of his drink. "As long as you understand that."


	2. Dinner with Mama Avery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Japril prompt: Japril having Catherine over for dinner and April very nervous so Jackson helps to calm her and reassure her that he loves her no matter how critical his mom is.

"April, babe, what's going on?" he asked his wife who was frantically fluffing the pillows on the couch. That wouldn't have been much of a concern except for the fact that it was the 5th time that they had been fluffed. April was on pins and needles. He knew she needed his help to calm down.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the fact that your mom is coming over for dinner," April replied sarcastically. "She's not exactly happy to have me as a daughter-in-law. Now we're pregnant and I don't know how she's gonna take it."

Jackson walked behind his wife and pulled her in close. Nuzzling her hair, he pressed a light kiss on the nape of her neck. "April, there's no need to worry. My mom's just gonna have to accept the fact that we're married and having a baby."

"But she's your mom. That's like one of the most important relationships in your life. What if she doesn't think I'm good enough for you? Remember what she said about Matthew? How I humiliated him in front of everybody he loves? She was right. I did humiliate him. I am a horrible person. I don't deserve to be happy, to be married to the man I love, to be expecting a baby with him."

"Hey," Jackson said as he turned April around to face him. "None of that's true. You do deserve to be happy. Granted we were off on the timing, but we were always meant to be together. You are it for me. I wouldn't want to spend the rest of my life with anyone else. I love you."

April's eyes fell to the ground and she bit her lip, not the sexy come and get some lovin' biting of the lip, but the uncertain and scared version. "It's just…I know I've disappointed her in the past. I don't want to do that anymore. I want everything to be perfect for her," she said as she made her way to fluff the pillows on the love seat.

Jackson gently grabbed her arm and pulled her into his embrace once more. "April, stop worrying. It doesn't matter what my mom says, nothing can stop me loving you. Besides, I am here for you. I'm not gonna let her say anything that would upset you. It wasn't that long ago that she thought the sun rose and fell on you. Give her a little time. I know for a fact she won't be able to resist loving you for long. I couldn't."

"You think so?" April asked hopefully.

"I know so," Jackson replied. placing a soft kiss on her lips.

As they separated, they heard the door bell ring. April took a deep breath and smiled. "Here we go. Let's do this."


	3. In the Mean Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can you do a prompt on how they go from kissing in a room 9x03 and ended up in an on call room in 9x04?

April's breath caught as she felt Jackson's strong, muscular arms pick her up. Within half a second, she felt the coolness of the filing cabinets against her back. She feverishly kissed the man who she couldn't force herself to forget, not after the plane crash, not after returning home to Moline. They had agreed that they needed to stay away from each other, but it was proving impossible to resist him. What could she say? She wanted what she wanted.

She gasped as she felt the air hit her skin and then once more, when their bare chests met. We're going to do it right here against the wall, standing up, she thought, a little chagrined as she realized that two-thirds of the time that she'd had sex was in this position.

Minutes later, April rested her head against Jackson's shoulder and slowly slid back down to the ground. Realizing the stupidity of what they had done, she began to put her clothes back on.

"That was not a good idea," April admitted.

Jackson nodded in agreement as he pulled on his lab coat. "It wasn't, but now that we've gotten it out of our system we probably won't do it again."

* * *

"Thanks for helping me move into my apartment. I really appreciate it," April told Jackson.

"No problem," Jackson replied, taking another bite out of his pizza. "It's good to have you back in Seattle. I missed you."

April scoffed. "Apparently not that much. You never called, never wrote, never sent an e-mail."

Jackson winced at her accusation. "You're right. It's just after everything that had happened between us, it was awkward. You didn't show up at Joe's like you said you would…"

"I had a flight to catch."

Jackson shrugged. "I know, but that didn't keep me from wishing you would have stayed."

April looked into his eyes. "Really?" she asked.

Jackson smiled and pushed back a wayward lock of her hair. "Really," he answered.

"And why was that?" April asked, leaning in closer.

She was never to know the answer. Jackson's lips pressed against her own and for the rest of the night there was little conversation to be had.

* * *

"Last night at your place. I'm sorry about that. It shouldn't have happened. We got carried away. It won't happen again," Jackson promised.

April bit her lip and nodded. "Yeah, totally, it won't happen again. I've got a surgery to get to so I'll see you around."

"Bye."

* * *

Jackson was debating whether or not he should text April. She might not even be done with her surgery for all he knew, but on the off chance he decided to press send.

Ten minutes later, he opened the door of the 3rd floor on call room. April stood in the middle of the room and as he locked the door she started to undress.

Jackson smirked. Guess she got my message after all.

* * *

A week later and Jackson and April found themselves in the same on call room, doing the same thing. It had become an addiction. Something they couldn't control, but April was determined that it would end today.

"That was the last time. We can't do this anymore."

"And we won't," Jackson assured her. "Cuz it's the last time. Ever."

Yet Jackson's eyes were telling her a completely different story. They were saying that they wanted to go back to doing what they had just finished doing mere minutes earlier.

"I'm gonna get some coffee," Jackson said finally, ignoring his inner urges.

"I'm gonna go pray," replied April equally as determined to not cave.

"Cool."


	4. Making Up Is Hard to Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jackson and April after the scene in the church where they made up I want to know what happens next.

"We can get waffles after," April agreed, snuggling in close and resting her head on Jackson's shoulder.

They sat in silence for the next few minutes. Jackson gently stroking April's arm up and down.

April pulled her head away from her husband's shoulder and looked into his eye. "I'm sorry," they said at the same time. Chuckling, they both breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

"I'm sorry," April said. "I get in my head how I want things to be. I expect things to be a certain way and if they aren't, I go a little crazy. I forget that it's going to take work. Our views are different, but it doesn't mean we can't love each other. That we can't be happy about us…..or the baby," April added in a whisper, covering her still flat belly with her hand.

Jackson looked at her with those piercing blue eyes of his. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have said what I did about your God. You're right. I can be judgmental. Maybe experiencing first hand what you believe when I go to church with you will help me with that. But no matter what we will work this out together. And for the record, I am very happy about us," he said as he kissed her forehead. "And about our baby," he murmured, sliding his hand over her own.

By now, April had tears running down her cheeks. Reaching up for Jackson's face with both hands, she lowered his head to her own. It had been a long and lonely two weeks and she needed to feel his lips on her own. It was the first time in those two weeks that April felt like everything was going to truly be OK.

"I love you," she whispered as she rested her head against his shoulder once more.

"I love you too."

They knew that after awhile they would have to return to work, but for now they were content just as they were.


	5. Letters from the Ex

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OS prompt: Jackson and April cleaning, Jackson sees and read a letter from April's ex and reads it out loud with amusement only to get more and more jealous as the tone gets raunchier and more wildly into details. He then asks April about said ex and almost lost it when April said she almost gave him her v-card coz he's one hella sexy bastard/good kisser. He then childishly proceeds to prove he's better and makes April say it out loud. (What can i say? Jealous and possesive jackson makes my day!)

April hummed as she dusted the furniture. She knew some people hated cleaning, but she never minded it. Unlike her husband who had been quietly grumbling for the last half hour. He was in charge of unpacking the boxes that they'd recently moved out of storage. It wasn't much just some odds and ends from her other apartment that they hadn't gotten around to after the wedding.

Her feather duster halted in midair as she heard Jackson's voice coming out of the guest bedroom.

" _Dear Honey Bun, I miss you so much_ …Aw isn't that sweet… _I think of you night and day. Day and night. When the sun shines and when the moon rises. My thoughts are only of you. The way your hair sparkles in the sweet sunshine and how your pale skin glistens in the moonlight._ Damn. This is some romantic crap right here."

April rolled her eyes and reached out her hand to take the letter. "Give it to me," she said.

Jackson shook his head. "I'm having too much fun reading this. Let me see where was I. Oh, here it is. _Your brown eyes are like a muddy swamp, deep and mysterious._ A swamp, really? I could write a more romantic letter in my sleep," Jackson laughed. " _You have a neck like a swan and the graceful arms and legs of a gazelle. But perhaps my most favorite part of your body, the part that I miss the most are your exquisite breasts._ What the hell is this, April?" Jackson's voice suddenly on edge. "Aw naw, it doesn't stop there."

"Jackson, you really don't want to read the rest of it," April protested, attempting to take the paper from him a second time.

"Oh, I'm gonna finish it. I have to find out what else this douche has to say. _Or maybe it's your thighs I love the most. Either way I'm itching to revisit both of them again. You can't imagine the plans I have for us next week. I'll give you a hint. It involves a bed, handcuffs, and a blindfold. We're gonna get it on like Donkey Kong. Until then, I'll be thinking about your bodacious bod 24/7. Peace, Carson_."

Jackson stared at his wife in complete confusion. "I don't think I even know who you are anymore. I can't believe you would date a guy who obviously is not only a dumb ass, but sounds like a total tool as well."

April smiled slyly, sensing that her husband was jealous. Why not play with him a little?, she thought. "Ah, Carson. Mmmmm," she said, closing her eyes. "He was so sexy and such a good kisser."

Jackson's jaw tensed as he listened to his wife reminiscing. He wasn't liking this trip down memory lane, not one little bit. "When? How long ago? What happened? Did you sleep with him, because it sure sounds like you did?" he asked, spitting the questions all out at once.

April put down her feather duster and led her husband to sit on the couch. "Carson and I met my first year of medical school. We didn't last long. We only dated a few months. No, I didn't sleep with him which you of all people should know better than anyone," April said crossly. But then, she decided to change her tune. After all, poking the bear could be fun. "But we almost did. We fooled around A LOT. Connor was just so handsome I couldn't resist. And like I said he was a really good kisser. Probably some of the best kisses I've ever had were from him."

Jackson's eyes gleamed as he pounced on top of her, dragging her into a deep, hypnotic kiss. Breaking the kiss, Jackson's eyes locked with hers. April could feel his hot breath against her face. "Take it back," he growled.

"Take back what?" April asked innocently.

"Say I'm the best kisser that you've ever had."

April tsked. "My mother taught me not to lie."

Jackson's lips returned to hers giving her a kiss that made her toes tingle and her body gasp for air.

"Say it," he ordered, pressing a trail of kisses down to her chest. "Say I'm the best."

April couldn't deny him any longer. "You're the best." And he was indeed.

* * *

"What is this?" April asked. "Is this from that guy Connor you've been seeing?"

Reed reached across the breakfast table and took it from her best friend. "His name is Carson. And this letter is irrelevant because I won't be seeing him anymore."

April nodded her head in understanding. "Yeah, that letter was pretty atrocious. Eyes like a muddy swamp? Really? That's the best he could come up with?"

The other redhead swatted at her friend. "Stop. I'm kind of bummed about this. He was a really good kisser and he had such a hot body. We hadn't even had sex yet."

"Oh, you mean get it on like Donkey Kong?"

"Shut up."


	6. Labor Pains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Japril Prompt : April and Jackson going into labour and a moment after with their child

"Babe, just a few more pushes and this will all be over. I promise."

April's face was red and sweaty. Her knees were pushed against her chest. She'd been pushing for the last 45 minutes and she wasn't sure she could do it any more. "I can't…I can't Jackson. I'm so tired," she cried.

Jackson took her hand in his own, giving it a gentle squeeze. Smoothing the matted hair off of her forehead, he smiled as he encouraged, "April, you can do this. You can do this."

"Easy for you to say," snapped April.

"It's time to push," said the OB/GYN, Dr. Warren.

Leaning forward, April pushed again with all her might.

"There you go. There's the head. Now let's see if we can get the rest of the baby out."

"See I told you. It's almost over."

"It is?" April asked, weakly.

"It is."

And with two more pushes, their baby was out.

"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Avery, you have a baby boy."

"Can I hold him?" April asked.

"Of course," the doctor said, but then changed her mind in mid-speech. "Uh, wait. I don't think you'll have time. The next one is already ready to come out."

A nurse took their son to clean him and check his vitals. Jackson cast a glance at their newborn before he returned his attention back to his wife.

"Last one, April. You ready?"

April nodded her head.

Five minutes later, April pushed out a baby girl. Leaning back against the bed, April began to cry.

"April," her husband murmured, saying her name with concern. "What's wrong?"

She took her husband's hand in her own. "Nothing's wrong. Everything is right. I'm just so glad it's over and that we have two healthy and beautiful babies."

After they were both cleaned off and wrapped, Jackson held their daughter and April cooed at their son.

"Jackson, look at them. They are so perfect. Their tiny, baby hands. Tiny, baby feet. I just want to gobble them up."

Jackson smirked. "We make some pretty cute babies."

"Let's switch. I want to hold my daughter now," April told her husband.

Moments later, with the other child admired and adored, their eyes returned to each other again. "So what should we name them," Jackson asked. "I know we had a few names we liked…"

"This is really hard. How about we each pick a name. You can pick the first name for the girl and I'll pick the middle name. Then, we'll reverse it for our son."

Jackson shrugged. "I kind of liked that name we had on our list…Hannah. It seems to suit her."

April nodded. "I like it too. So Hannah Catherine it is," she said, nuzzling her baby girl.

"Catherine wasn't on our list…"

"I know, but it's your mom's name and I think we should honor her."

"You'll definitely earn brownie points from my mom for that one…So what do you want to name him?" Jackson asked, indicating the infant in his own arms.

April bit her lip, thinking. "Hmmm…I liked Joseph, but," she sighed. "I'm not sure it fits him. I think I like Henry better. Yeah, Henry. Let's name Henry."

Jackson glanced at her. "Are you sure?" At April's nod, he continued, "I think his middle name should be Charles. Henry Charles."

April smiled. "That's it then. Welcome to our family Hannah Catherine Avery," she said to the infant in her arms. Reaching out to her son, she said, "Welcome Henry Charles Avery."

"Hannah and Henry," Jackson murmured, awestruck. "Our children. We did it April. We're parents."

Smiling at her husband, April nodded in agreement. "We did it. Me and you."

"Me and you."


	7. Walk This Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One shot prompt: April complaining about barely even being able to walk after a night of hardcore sex. Jackson looks proud/smug much to April's annoyance. (Bonus points if the rest of the residents are there teasing April, making her annoyed further)

April winced as she tried to find a comfortable standing position. She shifted back and forth attempting to ease some of the tension between her thighs. Closing her eyes and tilting her head back, she let out a soft groan. She and Jackson would not be able to have nights like last night if she was going to be so sore the next day. She could barely walk.

Jackson leaned against the counter, checking his patient's file on his tablet. He looked up at her and asked, "What's the matter? You look uncomfortable."

"That's because I am," April whispered, eyes boring a hole into the paperwork in front of her. "And you know why. Last night. Four times? Don't you think that was a bit much?"

Jackson set his tablet down and turned to lean against the counter. Smirking, he replied, "That's not what you said last night. You couldn't get enough."

"Well, that was last night. Today, I can barely walk."

Jackson shrugged. "I wish I could say I'm sorry, but I can't. I had to make do without you for over a year. I'm making up for lost time."

"We've been married two months and we've done a lot of catching up since then."

"Yeah, we have," Jackson replied, channeling his inner Mark Sloan.

"As much as I would love to continue this conversation, I have patients I need to see," April said before she slowly hobbled her way down the hall.

* * *

At lunch, April gingerly sat down at the same table as Meredith and Cristina. If the pain didn't go away by tonight, April decided she would hit a yoga class to work out some of the kinks.

Taking a bite of her sandwich, she glanced at the two twisted sisters who were totally being obvious with their accusing eyes and cackling laughter. "What?" April barked.

"We know what you were up to last night," Meredith teased.

"Or rather who kept popping up all night." Cristina quipped before shoving a bite of salad in her mouth. April wished she could shove it down her throat. "It must have been good for you to be limping like that."

April turned a bright pink. "We're newlyweds. It's not like it's nothing you've never done before," April said defensively.

"Look there he is, the stud of Grey-Sloan Memorial," Cristina cat-called.

Jackson sat next to April, kissing her cheek before digging into his food. "Hmm?" he asked the women at the other side of the table. "What are you talking about?"

They sent him knowing looks. "Kepner can barely walk. We can only imagine how she got that way."

"Well, you'll have to keep imagining, cuz that's between me and my wife. Isn't it, babe?"

"Oh, go to hell, all of you," April replied as she got up and sulked away slowly.


	8. Unexpected Bridal Shower Guest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Jackson sort of attends April's bridal shower casually walking by and peeks in, just in time 2 see her hold up the 'special gift' her sister's gave her, he feels unsettled somehow, April sees him too & then him commenting about that in a surgery they do together, or the next time he sees her.

Jackson heard the steady hum of conversation coming from one of the lounges. His curiosity getting the better of him, he decided to peek in. As soon as he stepped in, he realized where he was. April's bridal shower. He made to leave the room, but stopped himself in his tracks. It wasn't bad luck if he stayed. After all, he wasn't the groom.

Immediately, he caught sight of his girlfriend, Stephanie. She waved him over to the table of food. "As long as we say something nice about her gifts, we can have as much food as we like."

Jackson reached for a deviled egg as Dr. Webber called the salad spinner lovely.

"I am proud of you for coming," said Stephanie as she kissed his cheek. "It shows that you're not letting things be awkward between you and April."

Jackson munched on his food and nodded his head. Things were still pretty awkward but he was going to pretend like they weren't. After all, he truly was happy for April. She was getting the life she always wanted. He looked in her direction and smiled. His smile soon fell off his face, however, when he saw the lacy thong in her hand.

"Adorable," said Murphy and Edwards without looking.

"Delightful," remarked Webber.

Jackson looked at them as if they were crazy, but then his eyes traveled back to April and the lingerie in her hand. Their eyes met and he felt again that all too familiar guilt wash over him. Guilt that he was the reason why she would not be innocent for the man she married, why her wedding wouldn't be as perfect as she had envisioned. He put his plate in the trash and made to leave.

Stephanie grabbed his arm. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"I'm not feeling well," he answered. "It must have been something I ate."

"You want me to come with you?"

"No. Stay here. Enjoy yourself."

* * *

"I heard you needed help with a surgery," Jackson said, approaching her in the attendings' lounge.

"Um, yeah, but I know you're busy. I can get someone else to help," April replied, clearly nervous and anxious to be near him.

"I don't mind…"

"I do. I would prefer someone else help me," April replied truthfully.

"Come on," Jackson said, coming closer, invading her space. "What's this all about?"

Much to his frustration, April moved backwards, away from him. "Nothing. It's nothing."

"Is it about me being at your shower yesterday?"

"No…," April began to say. "Yes. It was so weird seeing you there with you watching me open gifts. Especially the gift that my sisters gave me."

"You mean the thong?"

April's eyes lowered and she turned her head a bit, embarrassed.

Jackson reached out to touch her. "Come on. It's not like I haven't seen a thong before. I have even seen you in a thong. The one that came with that lingerie I bought you."

"Stop!" April replied emphatically, shaking off his hand. "I need you to just stop. I can't…I can't move on with my new life with Matthew if you are always there, if memories of you keep popping up. We can't talk about or joke about that part of our life anymore. We know that it happened, but we can't dwell on it. I can't dwell on it, because when I get to thinking about our time together I…," April faltered, staring straight at the tile on the floor.

Jackson closed the space between them once more, lifting her hair and pushing it over her shoulder. "You what?"

"You know what," she replied, looking up at him with glaring eyes. "You remember what happened after I returned from Ohio. It's got to stop Jackson. Help me put that part of our relationship where it belongs, in the past."

Jackson swallowed as she quickly walked away. He wasn't sure he knew how to do that.


	9. So I Creep, Yeah

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can you do a prompt about Japril sneaking around the hospital after they were married, before anyone found out?

Jackson and April walked side by side discussing a patient's information from the tablet Jackson was holding. "She'll need surgery. I'll scrub in with you," Jackson said loudly before dropping his voice to just above a whisper. "Meet me in the ICU supply closet in ten minutes."

April looked taken aback. "Why?" she asked.

Jackson couldn't keep the grin off his face. "You know why," he replied suggestively.

April shook her head. "Oh, no, no, no. We're not doing that, not here. It's too risky."

Before Jackson got a chance to reply, they saw Shane Ross walking their way. Heading different directions, April turned to see Jackson holding up both hands and mouthing the words _ten minutes_.

* * *

April stepped into the supply closet, gasping when she felt a pair of strong arms pull her in close. Looking up at her husband of two weeks, she couldn't keep her lips from upturning. She was so happy. Deliriously so. She giggled as she felt Jackson's breath against her ear as he blazed a trail of kisses to her collarbone. Turning around, she lifted her face to his, kissing him with all the love she knew she'd felt for him since the bus explosion.

April felt Jackson's hand slide down to the waist of her pants, pulling the string. April stepped back, breaking the kiss. "What are you doing?"

Jackson took a step closer, gathering her in his arms as he rubbed his nose against hers. "If you don't know what I'm doing. I must not be doing it right. Let me fix that."

April reared her head back but didn't step out of his embrace. "Jackson," she whispered. "We can't do this. What if we're caught?"

"This supply closet is dead at this hour. No one is gonna find us. Don't worry."

"We're supposed to keep us a secret. We can't do that if we do it everywhere at the hospital. People found out about us last time, Jackson. They'll do it again."

"Well," said Jackson, pulling her abruptly against his chest. "We'll have to be extra careful, won't we?" he said as he leaned in for another kiss, one that April wouldn't stop.


	10. Weren't You Going to Marry that Guy?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Japril is out on a date with their daughter and they bump into Matthew and he has a girl with him and they have a little chat.

"Oh, Mommy and Daddy, I love the park, but I am so glad I _finally_ get to rest!" Annabelle Avery cried dramatically, throwing her tiny body on top of the table.

April smoothed her hand across her four-year old daughter's soft curls. "So what kind of ice cream would you like?

Annabelle lifted her head immediately and cuddled close to her father who was sitting in the booth next to her. "Daddy and I want to share a 'nana split."

Jackson chuckled. "We do?" At his daughter's insistent nod, he looked at April knowingly before confirming the order with the waitress. "We do."

"Daddy, you eat the nana and the yucky 'nilla ice cream and I'll eat the rest."

"Sounds like a plan," Jackson said, pressing a kiss against his daughter's forehead.

"April," he heard a man's voice say. Turning his head, Jackson was shocked to see Matthew Taylor, April's old fiancé standing right in front of them.

"Matthew!" April cried. Attempting to stand up faster than her round belly would allow, she faltered a bit. Finally, on her feet, she gave Matthew a hug. Jackson was surprised to see that the other man accepted it without any anger. The last time he'd seen this man, right before he'd dashed out of the church with April, Matthew had looked like he wanted to kill both of them. "How are you?" his wife asked.

The other man's face broke into a huge grin. "I am doing great. I'm living in Portland now, but we're in town to visit my mom for the weekend."

"We?" April asked. "Are you married?"

"Uh, yeah. They're actually over there. They just got out of the bathroom," Matthew said, motioning to a woman holding a toddler in her arms.

The woman walked over and Matthew put his arm around her. "This is my wife Melanie and our daughter Madison. Honey, this is April and her husband Jackson."

Jackson nodded in their direction. "This is our daughter Annabelle and Logan who's still baking," he said, indicating his wife's pregnant belly.

"Congratulations," said Matthew. He hesitated for a moment, then continued, "I debated whether I should come over here or not, but Melanie convinced me to come and talk to you. I just want to say no hard feelings. At the time, I was really angry and hurt, but if we had gone through with the wedding….I wouldn't have what I have now. I have everything I ever wanted."

"We are sorry though. We never wanted to cause you pain," April confessed.

"Don't be," Matthew replied, honestly. "God blessed the broken road," he said, squeezing his wife and kissing the top of his daughter's head. "We have to go, but it was good seeing you."

"Bye."

April looked at Jackson and smiled. "He seems happy. I'm glad."

Jackson nodded. "Me too."


	11. Green Eyed Monster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Perhaps he gets jealous over a patient of April's wherein April's married state does not deter him? April sets boundaries but still relishes the attention ending in Jackson being childish, jealous and possessive.

"Good evening, Mr. Smith. I'm Dr. Kepner. Let's take a look at the burn on your arm."

"Call me Dave," the man, who was in his mid-twenties and kinda cute in a frat boy way, said, looking April up and down. "I didn't realize I would get such a gorgeous doctor when I came in today. I might need to hurt myself every day if I get to see your pretty face."

April smiled, half listening to the man's compliment. Rolling up his sleeve, she took a look at the second degree burn on the man's forearm.

Grinning, Dave flexed his bicep. "Like what you see? I can get you tickets to the gun show if you want."

"As flattered as I am, I'm actually married," April replied, lifting up her left hand so he could see her ring.

Smiling politely, she gently straightened his arm so she could clean the wound. The curtain moved and April was happy to see her husband step inside.

"Hi, Mr. Smith. I'm Dr. Avery from plastics. You were referred to me for your burns." Stepping closer to take a look at the arm, he asked, "How are you doing today?"

The other man smiled. "I think I've died and gone to heaven. I've got this angel looking after me."

Jackson coughed unexpectedly, surprised at this man's blatant flirtation with his wife.

"She says she's married, but what husband could part with such beauty?" The man said, continuing to blab on. "If you were my chick, I'd never let you out of my sight. Your husband's a straight up fool for doing so."

April's eyes shifted to Jackson. She could tell he was not happy. He was clenching his jaw, but trying to stay as professional as possible.

"What are the burns from?" Jackson asked. "Chemicals? Fire?"

The man chuckled. "This total jag across the street from us keeps parking in the street, taking up way too much space. So we decided to set his trash on fire. Came back to bite me though," grumbled Dave, looking woefully at his injury.

"Sad story bro," Jackson murmured, rolling his eyes as he turned to look at April, trading places with her to debride the man's arm.

"Enough about me. I want to know more about you, Dr. Kepner. You say you've got a husband, but is it an open marriage? You know exploring other options, better options," the man asked, fishing.

"She's not in an open relationship," Jackson said, finally cutting in.

"And how do you know?" shot the other man.

"Because I'm her husband and I'm not a fool. And I keep a _very_ close eye on her. Now, I think it's best if you just shut the hell up while I finish treating your wound."

* * *

"That was awkward," April commented as they left the patient fifteen minutes later.

Jackson shrugged. "He was the one that made it awkward. I was just putting him in his place."

"And what was that about you keeping a close eye on me?" April said, turning to look at him, slightly irritated. "Don't you trust me?"

Jackson's cocky attitude quickly dissipated. "Babe, it's not that. That guy was hitting on you. You're my wife. I got caught up in the moment and said something I shouldn't have. Of course, I trust you. I was jealous and I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I think it's sexy when you're jealous," April said, tugging his jacket to pull him close. "As long as you know that cheating on you is never an option for me. You're my one and only."

Jackson bent down to kiss her lips. "Good," he said flashing her that cocky smirk of his that she hated and loved at the same time.


	12. Hold Me When I Wake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> April has a nightmare about the hospital shooting from s6.Jackson holds her through it at night.

_April stared at her hands, covered in blood. Her heart pounding with an uneasy sense of foreboding, she slowly turned around. Looking at the ground, she found the body of her best friend since med school lying still and bleeding._

_"_ _Reed,_ _"_ _she whimpered, tears falling down her cheeks._ _"_ _Reed._ _"_

_Her misery was short lived for fear came into play within a split second. She heard ominous footsteps approaching. Turning around, her suspicions were confirmed. Gary Clark stood right in front of her, holding a gun pointed at her head. She ran for the door, making it out without hearing his footsteps following her. But when she rounded the corner, he suddenly appeared. And when she turned to run towards the elevator, he was there in front of her again._

"No, no, no, don't!" April cried as she thrashed on the bed.

"Hey, hey," she heard Jackson say as he gently shook her awake. Staring into the blue-green orbs of her husband, she slowly began to realize where she was and that she was safe.

Jackson sat up with her, fluffing the pillows behind her and turning on the lamp. "What happened? That sounded like a pretty bad dream."

April nodded, brushing the sweat soaked hair off her forehead. Reaching for the glass of water on her night stand, she took a big gulp. Her heart was still going a mile a minute but she was no longer as terrified as she had been.

"I was dreaming about finding Reed and then…then Gary Clark came and he was trying to kill me and I couldn't run away from him no matter how hard I tried. He would always just appear right in front of me. It was so awful Jackson. I was so scared," April said, leaning on Jackson's shoulder and beginning to sob into his neck.

Jackson sat and rubbed his hand up and down April's back not making a sound but resting his head against hers and letting her calm down.

April's sobs finally subsided and she looked up at him. "That dream just reminded me how terrible that day was. Finding Reed dead, seeing Derek shot, having a gun pointed at me. I was so in shock that day many of the memories are just a blur. I know I wasn't much of a help that day. But I think that day made me a stronger person, you know?" she said as she brushed some residual tears off her face. "Months later when we did trauma training, I remembered how weak and unprepared I was the day of the shooting and I told myself never again. I would do better the next time. I would be somebody that could help."

Jackson pulled her close for another hug, not letting her go for a long time. "I think that day as awful as it was changed all of us, made us stronger."

April looked at her husband. He was right that day had made a huge impact on all of them. "Do you still miss Charles?" she asked.

Jackson glanced away for a moment before looking back at her. He nodded. "Yeah."

A tear edged out of the corner of his eye. With the pad of her thumb, April gently brushed it away. She pressed a gentle kiss against his lips. Wrapping her arms around him, she whispered, "I love you."

"We should…uh…we should probably try to get some rest," he said, turning off the lamp and lying back down.

April curled up against him, her hand resting over his heart. It was many hours before they fell back asleep. As they rested in each other's arms, they remembered the pain of the past but the fear was absent for they knew that no matter what path lie ahead they would always have each other to hold onto.


	13. Expecting Another Man's Baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Can you do one where April is marrying Matthew but pregnant with Jackson's baby?

"That's why I shouldn't come to your wedding," Jackson said, struggling to catch his breath.

He and April lay on the hardwood floors of her apartment, recovering from the aftermath of what had just taken place. They'd had sex. Not just once, but twice. They'd known better, but they'd done it anyway.

April blinked back tears. She was so ashamed of herself. She was engaged for heaven's sake. How could she do this to Matthew?

Jackson looked over at April. "Don't beat yourself up about it. It happened. We never had a proper goodbye before. This is it. This is our goodbye."

Sitting up, April hugged her knees to her chest. "What am I going to tell Matthew?" she asked, looking at Jackson for answers.

Jackson stood up, gathering his clothes. As he dressed, he advised, "Don't tell him. It shouldn't have happened, but it did. There's no reason you can't still marry him. You've already made all the plans."

April bit her lip, gazing up at him wistfully. "Really? No reason at all?"

Jackson finished putting on his clothes. He stood silently for a moment before he replied, "I know what you want me to say, but I can't. Marry him, April. He's a good guy. He's much better for you than me."

* * *

Jackson's eyes followed April. Something wasn't right with her. Something was off. She'd been standoffish since their night together a few weeks ago, but this was different. She was the type of girl who became more jittery and talkative when she was feeling anxious. That wasn't what was happening now. She was eerily quiet, hardly talking to anyone. Even Arizona had noticed something wasn't right. He hadn't seen her like this since she'd failed her boards.

Concerned, Jackson walked over to her. Touching her shoulder to get her attention, he asked, "Can we talk?"

April shrugged listlessly. "Sure," she said.

Guiding her to the attendings' lounge, he softly closed the door behind them. "Are you OK?" he asked.

"I'm fine." April replied.

Jackson shook his head. "You don't look fine. April what's really going on? I know things have been weird since that night, but you can tell me. I'm always going to be your friend."

"You don't want to know," April replied suddenly fascinated with the floor.

"Try me."

April looked up at him, brushing away tears. "I'm pregnant. And it's not just a feeling this time. I got the lab results a few days back."

Jackson stumbled backwards, taking a seat on the couch. Holding his head in his hands, he tried to come to terms with the news that he was going to be a father.

"You don't have to worry though," April said, almost robotically. "I'm still going to marry Matthew. I won't tell him about the baby until after the honeymoon. Who knows? Maybe it won't be such a big deal."

Jackson looked at her as though she were crazy which at this moment was a definite possibility. "You're pregnant with _my_ baby. You can't marry him."

"Yeah, I can," April stated before she left the room leaving Jackson in a state of complete bewilderment.

* * *

April sat watching TV next to Matthew, feeling like the world's biggest fraud. How could she do this to him? Pretend like everything was fine. Lie to him and continue with the wedding when she knew that she shouldn't. Matthew was such a sweet guy. He didn't deserve to have a fiancee who cheated on him.

Matthew laughed at the actors on the screen. He glanced at her to see if she thought the scene was as funny as he did.

"What's going on?" he asked. "You've been zoned out for days now. You're not getting cold feet, are you?" he joked.

April reached for the remote and turned off the TV. Turning to Matthew, she gently took his hands in her own. The mirth in his eyes fading, he was slowly beginning to realize that what she was about to tell him wouldn't be good news.

"Matthew, I have something to tell you," she began. Taking a deep breath, she shot a quick prayer up to heaven for strength. "I…I'm pregnant."

Matthew instantly freed his hands from hers. His face contorted through different emotions, disbelief, shock, finally settling on outrage.

"You cheated."

April nodded. "I did and I am so sorry. I didn't mean for it to happen. I never wanted to hurt you."

Matthew stood up and began pacing the floor. "Let me guess. The baby's father is Jackson?"

April nodded mutely, her head hung low.

"This is just great, April. We're getting married in ten days and you tell me this now!"

April stood up to touch his arm, but Matthew shrugged it off. "Don't," he barked. "You know what? Why don't you leave? I'm not really in the mood to see you right now."

"I'm sorry Matthew. I'm so sorry," she said as she backed out the door.

* * *

Pressing ignore, April put her phone back down on her night stand. She wasn't ready to talk to Jackson yet. Everything was still so new. She had only told Matthew about the baby yesterday. Heck, she hadn't even canceled any of the wedding plans. It was like she was frozen in time. She couldn't move forward and she sure couldn't move backward and undo her act of infidelity.

Her phone buzzed again, reaching for it April was surprised to see that it was Matthew who was calling this time. Sitting up in bed, she answered, "Hello."

"Um, hey, April."

"Hey," she replied softly.

"I've been thinking about us, about the wedding."

"Yeah," she said expecting Matthew to tell her the wedding was off. That he hated her and never wanted to see her again.

"I want to know something. Was what happened between you and Jackson a one time thing or have you guys been going behind my back?"

"It was just…it was just the one time," April whispered brokenly, unsure of where he was going with this.

"Have you told Jackson? I mean are you and him getting back together?"

"I've told him, but no, we're not getting back together."

"OK. If we get married, are you going to cheat on me again?"

April's heart started to pound rapidly. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? "No. I promise. I won't ever be that foolish again."

"Then, I think maybe we should still get married." In a choked voice, he asked, "Does that sound good to you?"

"Yeah, it sounds good to me."

* * *

"You're not answering my calls," Jackson said to April during their surgery the next day.

"I already know what you're going to say," April replied. "And I don't want to hear it."

Jackson scoffed. "Alright. Enlighten me. What am I gonna say?"

"That I shouldn't do this alone. That we should get married."

Taken aback at how accurate she was, Jackson shrugged it off. "So what? It's true and you know it. We should get married."

"Well, we're not going to."

"And why the hell not, April?"

"Because Matthew and I are getting married."

"You said that before, but what's he going to think when you tell him?"

"Well, I have told him and while he's not exactly happy about it he's going to give me a second chance."

Jackson shook his head. "That's great April. Really happy for you," he replied sarcastically. "Great way to start your marriage being pregnant with another man's kid."

"Yeah, well at least i know he's marrying me because he loves me not just because he knocked me up."

Jackson shot a look at her that could have ignited a parked car in flames. "Is this about last time? I stand by my decision. It was the right thing to do."

April nodded her head in agreement. "Yep, it was. You'd never do anything unbecoming of an Avery, would you? But once you found out I wasn't pregnant, you were real quick to end things, weren't you buddy? She's not pregnant after all, better get out while I can," April said, mimicking his voice.

"That's not the way I remember it. You were pretty damn happy to find out you weren't carrying my baby. As I recall, you were praising God for helping you dodge that bullet."

He didn't get it. He really just didn't get it. She loved him and all she wanted was for him to love her back. Not to marry her just because she was pregnant. April sighed. It didn't matter if she explained it to him. He would never understand.

"I think we should focus on our patient. There's no point in rehashing the past," she said.

"You're right, but this conversation is far from over. We've got a lot of decisions to make for the future.

* * *

"April Kepner, is it?" asked the OB/GYN as she walked into the room.

"Yes, that's me," April replied.

Dr. Snyder glanced at the two men in the room. "Are these the fathers?" she asked as she washed her hands. "Did you go through IVF or are they adopting?"

Matthew and Jackson stared oddly at the woman until Jackson figured out what she was implying. "Um, we're not together," he said, pointing to Matthew and himself. "I'm the father of her baby. He's her fiancé."

The doctor's face reddened a little. "I'm sorry. I'm just not used to seeing two men at appointments unless they're with their surrogate."

"Yeah, the situation's definitely a bit weird," April agreed, pressing her lips together in that nervous way of hers.

"Well, let's go ahead and get started. When was your last period?"

* * *

"Here let me help you up," Jackson said, offering April his hand.

"I think I should be the one helping her," Matthew said, butting in. "I am her fiancé after all."

Jackson didn't budge, instead placing a supportive hand on April's back. He helped her get to her feet.

"Come on, man. Give up. She chose me. Why don't you go find somewhere else to be?" Matthew spat angrily.

"Matthew!" April gasped.

Jackson shrugged. "You might not like the fact that I'm here, but that still doesn't change the fact I have more right to be here than you do. It is _my_ child after all."

April, clearly distressed, shooed both of the men out of the room. "I need you both to leave. I need to change so she can do the pelvic exam which by the way, neither of you are allowed to attend," she said as she pointed to both of them. "Be nice or I'll be forced to attend these appointments by myself."

A smirk crept onto Jackson's face. It wouldn't hurt to have a little fun. To remind April of their previous intimacy. To torture that clown with the knowledge that he'd gotten to touch, taste, and see every part of April. "I don't see why I can't stay. I've seen you naked before. Multiple times. It's nothing new to me."

"Jackson!" April cried, swatting at him. "Leave. Now!" Her finger pointed towards the door.

"Classy," Matthew mumbled as they made their way back to the lounge.

"What?" Jackson asked, turning his head back. "Oh, you're upset about what I said in there?"

"I know she cheated. I don't need you to rub it in my face."

"Yeah, I don't particularly care to see you two rubbed in my face. The woman I love is marrying another guy even though she's pregnant with my kid. Nobody's getting what they want in this situation."

Sitting down, Matthew put his head in his hands. "You got that right. You know what would really help? If you would just get out of the picture. I can accept that this child won't be mine. I could even grow to love him or her, but with you around everything's going to be so much more difficult."

Jackson closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He knew he should feel sorry for this guy. What he and April had done was wrong, but that didn't change the fact that she belonged with him. He knew it deep down in his soul. "I'm sorry, man, but I can't do that. It's my baby. I can't just abandon him or her or April. You're just going to have to get used to me being around."

Matthew looked straight ahead. "I'm not sure I can do that."

Jackson swallowed. Taking a risk, he continued, "Or you could step back and let me be with April. I love her. We've been friends for years and we've got a lot of history, but I love everything about her. Even the things I don't like I love. And I know it's not right or fair to you, but I want her with me. I love her and I think she loves me too. But there's not much I can do with you still around."


	14. Love Is Blind - Nope, Just Jackson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Could you write one that Jackson gets injury on the eyes somehow and couldn't see for a week. So April takes care of him but he hates that because he doesn't like others seeing him being sick and he likes to be in control. But after a while( you can add things during this time) he is ok with that because April is his family and she is a part of himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is partly inspired from a scene from the Taiwanese Drama - Fated to Love You (which I highly recommend watching).

"Oh my gosh, Jackson!" April cried at the sight of her husband with a bandage wrapped around his head. Rushing to his side, she grabbed his hand in both of her own.

"April, it's not as bad as it looks," assured Dr. Shepherd. "Concussions are never a good thing, but the fall could have been much worse. He could have hit the concrete steps instead of the rail."

"Wh…why is there a bandage around his head? What happened?" April asked, her lips trembling. She didn't know what she'd do without Jackson. He was her husband, her friend, her source of comfort. Her whole world revolved around him.

"April." She heard Jackson sigh. "I'm gonna be fine. I'm just experiencing some temporary blindness. It should be gone after a few days. Nothing to worry about."

Dr. Shepherd nodded. "He's right. His condition is likely temporary. In fact, when you're ready, we'll release him and he can go home."

* * *

"Honey, I made you some soup," April said as she placed the tray on the bed. She was relieved that her husband's prognosis looked good, but that didn't complete alleviate her concern. But she wouldn't let it get her down, plus she was kind of excited about being his caretaker.

Jackson scooted himself into a sitting position. His hand searching for the tray. "Where's the spoon?" he asked.

"Here you go." April gave him the spoon. "And the bowl is right here," she said, guiding his hand to it. "Be careful, it's hot."

April watched as Jackson slowly felt around the edges of the bowl and dipped his spoon in. He cursed as his hand wobbled and some of the soup spilled on his shirt.

"I told you it was hot. Here let me help you. I'll feed you the soup," she said, reaching to take the spoon from her husband.

Jackson flung the spoon down, startling April. "Why the hell did you have to make soup? That was a stupid idea April."

Recovering from her shock, April told herself that he wasn't mad at her just the situation. "It's not a big deal," she said as cheerfully as possible. "I don't mind feeding you. It's one of the few chances I get to take care of you."

Laying back down, Jackson seemed intent on throwing a fit. "I'm not a damn toddler. I don't need to be spoon fed like I am one. We had pizza the other night just give me a couple cold slices of it."

"That's not really healthy…"

"Healthy or not, it's the only thing I can eat right now without having to be fed like a baby by my own wife."

Wiping the tears from her cheeks, April lifted the tray off the bed. "I'll get you some pizza."

* * *

Jackson was miserable and what's more he could tell his wife was too. She was taking it like a champ but he was being a grade A douche to her. It wasn't her fault that he couldn't see just like it wasn't her fault that he didn't like to be coddled.

Feeling the early morning urge to relieve himself, he decided to get out of bed and walk to the bathroom himself. It was his house. He should know how to get around it. Plus he didn't want to wake April. Or rather that was the excuse he was using. Truth be told, he didn't like being weak in front of her. He was always the strong one, strong for her, strong in times of crisis at the hospital. He couldn't stand being like this and looked forward to his recovery.

Taking a few careful and slow steps forward, Jackson smiled as his footsteps became surer. He could do this. He could make it all the way to the bathroom without waking his wife up.

With one hand on the wall for support, he made his way into the bathroom. Reaching for the light switch, his hand froze. He couldn't see so what was the point of turning on the light? Shuffling forward, he took another step in the direction of the toilet but somehow he'd forgotten that there was a scale between the door and the toilet. His foot bumped into it and he promptly lost his balance. He emitted a loud "oof" before collapsing to his knees.

"Jackson!" he heard his wife cry before he heard footsteps running towards him. "Are you OK?" she asked as he felt her hand on his back.

"You shouldn't be running," he scolded. "You're pregnant."

"I'm fine," April reassured. "Why didn't you wake me up? I could have helped you walk over here."

Jackson let out an angry huff. "Don't get you it, April? I don't want your help."

"Well, that's just tough cookies mister because you can't eat, you can't walk, you can't do much without me."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it," Jackson barked.

"Jackson, can you stop the tough guy act? I know you're strong. I know you're independent and don't like taking help from others, but this is a time when you have to. You have to learn to accept my help. I'm your family. You're not forcing me to do this. I want to help because I love you."

"I know, April. I know. And you're right. I don't like depending on others, but I'll try. For you, I'll try."

* * *

As the days passed, Jackson grew more and more comfortable with his wife taking care of him. In fact, he was really starting to like it, a lot. She made him his favorite foods, massaged his temples, and they'd shared a pretty exciting bubble bath together. On the sixth morning after his fall, he noticed that things were starting to lighten up and by that afternoon his vision had returned in full.

Yet, when his wife came home from work that evening he didn't tell her the good news. Instead, he let her pamper him like she'd been doing for the past few days. After washing the dishes, April joined him on the couch, cuddling into his arms. She was wearing a very low cut tank top and his eyes became permanently glued to her chest.

"Are you feeling OK?" she asked. "Is there anything I can get you?"

Jackson groaned, nuzzling his wife's neck. "It's more like something you can do."

April gently swatted his arm. "You must be feeling better to want _that_."

"You're not going to comply with a poor blind man's request?" Jackson asked, holding his wife tighter and searching for her lips.

Giggling, April returned his kiss. She cooed, "Aw, poor baby. Need mama to kiss and make it better?"

Pulling his wife on top of him, he replied, "Yeah, I do."

* * *

Jackson, propped up on his elbow, looked adoringly at his beautiful, sleeping wife. He couldn't believe how lucky he was to have such a sweet caring woman in his life.

He smiled as she slowly awoke, stretching her back and flopping over to look at him.

"Good morning gorgeous," he murmured, looking deep into her eyes.

"I see that your vision's back," she commented.

"I guess all I needed was a really good…"

"Don't even say it," April warned, placing her finger on his lips. "But I'm glad your sight is back."

"Yesterday, I was blind and now I can see. It was a sex miracle," Jackson said, leaning in for a kiss.

Pushing him away, April got out of bed. "Ummm, no, it wasn't. The way you were ogling my boobs last night made it very obvious your sight had returned. I just didn't say anything because I didn't want to embarrass you. Now, I'm going to take a shower. You make breakfast. I think it's about time that you wait on me."

Jackson groaned as he plodded toward the kitchen. "Busted."


	15. We Got Married Y'all

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can you write a AU prompt where in 10x13 in the OR Jackson tells Leah that him and April are married?

"You know, it's really great that you dumped your girlfriend and ran off with Kepner at her wedding because that worked really well, didn't it? Your decision made everybody miserable. Stephanie's miserable, Kepner's miserable and you're miserable. It's so typical of all the attendings to just crap on the residents like they don't mean anything at all."

Jackson bit the inside of his cheek, holding back the words he so desperately wanted to shoot off. No, he told himself, he couldn't do that. He was her boss and besides what she said had some truth to it. The attendings did treat the residents poorly. Robbins had mistreated her just like he'd mistreated Stephanie.

"I'm sorry you feel that way," he murmured, hoping this line of conversation would soon be dropped. Otherwise they were in for a very long surgery.

"You're sorry! Buddy, you're telling the wrong person that. The person you should be telling that to is consulting Cat Man right now."

"I know, but she won't hear me. I've tried to apologize like a thousand times. It's not like I planned what I did to her. I am really sorry."

Leah rolled her eyes. "I'm just going to say it. You were a bastard to her. What you did was a total jerk move. Standing up during somebody else's wedding to declare your love for the bride while your current girlfriend is sitting next to you. That was so disrespectful! I mean who does that?"

"I know. I know," Jackson agreed. He really did feel bad. His behavior that day was completely unlike anything he'd ever done before.

"But I gotta admit, I'm happy that your life sucks. Now both women won't even talk to you. Neither of them can stand being near you."

This time a small smirk spread across his face. One of those women loved being near him very much. Memories of how much and how often flooded through his brain. Keeping his eyes down to keep the appearance of being ashamed of himself, he simply nodded his head in response to Leah's goading.

Leah laughed. "Stephanie completely avoids you and Kepner turns around and walks off whenever she sees you're headed her way. What did you do? Decide you'd chosen the wrong girl after all? Don't think Stephanie would take you back even if you begged."

"I don't want her back," he blurted. "I'm perfectly content with…" Realizing what he'd almost said he let his voice falter.

One of Leah's eyebrows perked up. "Perfectly content with who?" she asked suspiciously.

"Um, nobody. Myself. You know I needed some alone time to get to know myself better. I've always been in relationship after relationship and have never really gotten to know the real me."

Leah snorted. "Oh, please. Spare me the Cosmo B.S. You're with someone new aren't you?" Leah shook her head. "I can't believe it. You hop from Kepner to Stephanie to Kepner again to some new chick…You're kind of a slut."

Mark Sloan's face popped in his mind for a moment. He could have sworn he'd heard his chuckle.

"I'm not with someone new," he admitted.

"Well, I know for sure you're not with Steph. And you say you're not with someone new…" Leah looked like a light bulb had switched on in her brain. "You never broke up with Kepner. It's all an act. You guys are together."

Speechless for a moment, Jackson stumbled for words. "That..is…not..true," he finally said, sounding like a slow-witted idiot.

"Oh my gosh! It totally is true," Leah said, shaking her head. "Wait until I tell Stephanie."

Sighing, Jackson looked at Leah pleadingly. "Please don't tell her it will only hurt her."

"I think it would hurt Kepner more. Are you ashamed of her or something? You stole her from her wedding but you're not ready to tell people she's your girlfriend?"

"It's not like that."

"Then, what's it like?"

"April's…," he started, hesitating. "April's my wife. We didn't want to tell anyone because we didn't want to rub it in Matthew and Stephanie's faces, but what we have is real. I'm not ashamed of her. It's just the timing isn't right. We love each other. We're just trying to be understanding of others' feelings."

"Oh," Leah squeaked, completely surprised.

The rest of the surgery was completed in silence. Which worked just fine for Jackson. He knew when he told his wife what happened today it would be a long time before he heard silence again.


	16. Without You I Have Nothing

"Jackson!" April screamed as she watched the flaming bus. "Jackson!" Why wasn't he coming out? Where was he?

She heard other voices yelling for him. She heard them calling him to get out of the bus. All of that was white noise to her. For in that second, realization dawned on her.

Her feet started to move. Within seconds, she was running head first towards the bus.

As she ran, she ignored the pleas of the other doctors to come back. She didn't care about the danger. She didn't spare a moment's thought to her own safety. What use was her life if Jackson wasn't alive to be part of it? No. She had to see if she could help, if she could save him.

A second later she felt a blast of heat against her skin. April was knocked to her knees as the bus exploded in front of her eyes. Her lungs began filling with smoke. No, she thought. No, no, no. She hadn't reached him in time. He was gone. There was no way he could have made it. Her last thought before slipping into unconsciousness was _I never got to tell him that I loved him_.

* * *

Jackson walked out from behind the bushes where he'd been hiding as the bus exploded. The little girl Evie was safe and secure in his arms. As he walked down the path, he noticed the doctors running towards a crumpled heap on the ground. Picking up his pace, he walked quickly to drop the child off to her mother before turning and heading to the patient on the ground.

Just as he turned, he saw a distressed Matthew running outside. "April!" he heard him call.

At the mention of April's name, a jolt of fear went straight to Jackson's heart. Not April. Please not April, he begged. Rushing to her side, he saw the team of doctors put her on a gurney. Pushing Owen out of his way, he took his place next to April. "April," he said, barely able to get the name past his lips. It was a rough and guttural sound, partly due to the smoke he'd inhaled and partly due to the vice like grip on his vocal cords that the fear of losing April caused.

"Avery, not now. You're banged up from the explosion. Go get treated. You'll be more of a harm than a help to her like this," barked Dr. Bailey as they made their way inside with the gurney.

* * *

As Jackson sat in the hospital bed, patiently waiting for the nurse to finish putting on his bandage, he saw Callie Torres passing by.

"Torres!" he shouted.

Startled, the woman stopped and turned towards him. "Yeah," she replied.

"Have you heard any news? About April? Is she going to be OK?" he asked, unable to hide the desperation in his voice.

"We had to intubate her, but she's stabilized. We gave her a sedative to calm her down. She was a little frantic when she first came to, but you don't need to worry Matthew's with her. Get some rest yourself."

Before he could ask any more questions, Callie was off again. Why was April frantic? His heart squeezed at the thought of her panicking without him there to comfort her. He wished the nurse would hurry up so he could go check on her. He was the only one that could really calm her down. He'd been doing it for the past 6 years. You could say he was kind of an expert at it. Matthew wasn't who she needed now. It was him.

The nurse finally finished bandaging him up and promptly left. There were a lot of patients and with so many doctors out for the count every hand needed to be on deck.

Just as he was about to get up and find April, he saw his girlfriend, Stephanie Edwards, making her ways towards him.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked.


	17. Shades

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt Courtesy of xLosingFaith: Baby Avery wondering why she/he doesn't have the same skin complexion as April or Jackson

Unquestionably, April's favorite part of the day was when, after an excruciatingly long day at work, she got to finally hold her precious 4 year old son in her arms and read him a bedtime story. Even though she was 8 months pregnant, she always found a way to fit both herself and her son, Cayden, in the rocking chair Jackson had made all those years ago.

"What story do we want to read tonight little man?" April asked, using the nickname Jackson so affectionately bestowed upon their first born. "Goodnight Moon? Knuffle Bunny? Green Eggs and Ham?"

"Knuffle Bunny!" Cayden exclaimed, his little hands clapping with delight.

April sighed. Although _Knuffle Bunny_ was a very cute story, reading it for a straight six nights in a row was a trifle boring. Opening the book, April set about reading the story to her son.

Five minutes later, Cayden was rubbing his eyes. "Read it one more time mama."

April kissed the top of her son's head. "I think someone's tired. Why don't we get you to bed?"

"Mama, why did Trixie's mama and daddy have the same color as her?"

Confused, April wrinkled her nose. "What are you talking about little man?"

Cayden opened up the book to the page where Trixie was walking with her mom and dad. "Look mama, Trixie, her mama and her daddy all the same color. They all white, but we not like that mama. Daddy is brown, you white and me…I not look like you or daddy. Why, mama?"

April wrapped her arms around her son and squeezed tightly. He was so precious but so curious. She didn't know quite how to answer his question. It was a tricky one. Sending a quick prayer heavenward that she could explain it as best she could, she began her explanation. "First of all, Cayden bear, you do look like your mama and daddy. You've got your daddy's eyes and your daddy's big hands and feet and you're gonna be tall just like your daddy. And you've got mama's nose," April said as she rubbed her own against his. "Your hair is curly just like mama and daddy's hair is."

"But mama that don't tell me why we not the same color."

April chewed on her lip searching for the right words. "Well, daddy was born with beautiful light brown skin and mama was born with white skin. When mama was carrying you around in her tummy, the colors got mixed together to make a brand new shade. Shade's another word for color, Cayden bear. A perfect, beautiful color that only mama and daddy could make. And guess what?" April said, dropping her voice to a whisper.

"What?" Cayden whispered back.

"Your new brother or sister will be the same shade as you. You won't be the only one anymore."

"But mama, aren't you sad that daddy's not the same color as you?" Cayden asked in all seriousness.

April laughed to herself. No, she wasn't sad. Not at all. She loved the contrast of Jackson's darker skin tone against her lighter one. She couldn't imagine a more beautiful family if she tried. But she wasn't a fool. She knew others less tolerant would raise similar questions and make snide comments about the way her children looked, but to her…her family was perfect.

"Not at all, little man. Not at all." April replied as she continued rocking her son.


	18. Baby's First Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Japril's baby's first Christmas

"April, do we have to do this? He's not even going to remember this."

April readjusted the baby on her hip, searching for a more comfortable position. "That's why we're going to have one of the elves take a picture. To immortalize this moment."

"Here give him to me," Jackson said, reaching his hands out towards his son. "Hey, little man, let's get this over with so we can go home and catch SportsCenter. One good smile is all we need."

April lightly smacked her husband on his arm. "Don't listen to daddy, Cayden bear. You are going to _love_ Santa. He's the guy you go to for all your presents."

Jackson scoffed. "Yeah right. That guy's standing right here."

"Shhh. He might hear you." April admonished.

"Oh, yes, April, I'm sure our 10 month old son is going to be completely scarred by the fact it's his mom and dad that buy his presents and not Santa. Santa's not real and he's gonna find out sooner or later."

"He might not be scarred but I think that kid is," April said, glancing over at the 5 year old with a trembling lip and a mother who had murder in her eyes.

"Oh, crap!" Jackson said, picking up the pace quickly.

April mouthed an "I'm sorry" before turning and running to catch up with her husband.

"We're not exactly off to a good start, but I'm sure all that will change once Cayden catches a glimpse of Santa." April squealed, "I'm so excited! It's going to be so adorable. I'm going to send this picture out to all of our friends and family for our Christmas card."

Jackson rolled his eyes. "I'm sure everyone is dying to see our son sit on some fat guy's lap."

"Stop being such a scrooge!" April scolded, this time hitting her husband in the abdomen. "Look, the line's not too long only about 15 people are in it."

Twenty minutes and one rushed diaper change later, it was finally Cayden's turn to have his picture taken with Santa. Jackson hoisted Cayden onto the mall Santa's lap.

Unfortunately, the second Cayden left his father's arms his face started to crumple. Within seconds a few sniffles turned into full on crying.

"Cay-den bear," April sing-songed. "Smile for mama. There's no reason to be scared. There's no reason to cry. Santa's gonna get you lots of presents!"

"Da-da! Da-da!" Cayden cried, squirming in Santa's lap with his arms outstretched towards Jackson.

Seeing his son's distress, Jackson took a step forward.

"Don't. You. Move." April warned.

"April, he's crying."

"Babies cry. He's fine. Aren't you Cayden bear? Aren't you?" April cooed.

Cayden was having none of his mother's cajoling. Instead, he continued to cry and reach for his father.

"April, I don't think I can take this much longer. He's just a baby."

"Fine," April conceded. Nodding at the elf, she said, "Just take the picture like he is. I don't think we're going to get a smile out of him today."

Seconds after the photo was taken, Jackson bounded up the steps to get his son. Almost instantly, Cayden's sobbing ceased. "It's OK buddy. You're safe now."

April rolled her eyes. "Yes, thank goodness you saved him from the evil Santa Claus."

April paid for the picture and opened the envelope. Jackson hovered over her shoulder to take a peek. "Don't think that's going to go on the Christmas cards now, is it?"

Shaking her head, April agreed, "Nope. These wouldn't be cute at all. It's such a shame too."

"We could always send it out and underneath we could write 'Merry Christmas! Our son hates Santa.'"

"Just hush. So the Santa picture didn't work out. It's OK because I've got another idea for a family photo. You know how they've got those adult sized footed pajamas?"

Jackson closed his eyes and sighed, whispering in his son's ear, "Little man, I have a feeling I don't like where this is going."


	19. Jealous, Jealous, Jealous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: I've rewatched season 9 over and over and I've noticed that Jackson doesn't really demonstrate his jealousy towards April and Matthew except when he finds out the ride along was a date and when he sees them kissing for the first time but in the engagement he seems genuinely happy and not at all hurt and so forth after that. Can you write a fanfic about him being jealous? Please!

He wished she would stop humming. He got it. She was happy about her engagement but it was like she had a permanent hanger stuck in her mouth. And now was the completely wrong time to be smiling. They were in the middle of treating a patient who'd had half his face eaten by another man, for heaven's sake.

As their patient's speech slowed and it became apparent that he was having a stroke, April's smile finally fell flat. She went into full on trauma beast mode. He would have taken time to stop and admire but he had an OR to book.

* * *

"I am feeling flute. What do you wish for sinner?" the OR nurse read aloud.

Jackson smiled behind his mask as April laughed out loud. Stephanie's texts had gotten ten times more interesting since her eye surgery.

"Yes, sinner, what do you wish for?" April asked barely able to keep it together.

Jackson shook his head and rolled his eyes at April's attempt at being funny. "Tell Stephanie I think lasagna sounds good for dinner."

Jackson knew he wasn't exactly being professional having the OR nurse type his texts to Stephanie. They could wait. None of them were emergency messages but he couldn't stop himself from having the nurse read them out loud. In the back of his mind, it was like he wanted April to know she wasn't the only one who was happy. He was happy too. Happier without her. Or at least that's what he kept trying to tell himself.

"Oooh, that sounds yummy. Let me know if it's any good. If it is, I'll have to get the recipe from Edwards later. Matthew loves lasagna. He loves pasta in general and we're due for a date night soon so I thought I'd make him something special at my place."

Jackson scoffed behind his surgical mask. It wasn't a surprise to him that Matthew liked pasta. The other man was on the verge of looking like the Pillsbury Dough Boy. A few more months of April's cooking and the transformation would be complete. Hell, he remembered when he and April were together having to sneak a couple of extra workouts at the gym each week just to keep fit. And of course, the after dinner sex helped to keep him in shape. He wondered if April had after dinner sex with Matthew but he didn't let his mind stay on that thought for long. A man could drive himself crazy with thoughts like that.

"There's another one for you, Dr. Avery. It's from Dr. Edwards again. She wants to know if you think she should call the lasagna pleasant?"

"That's like her fifteenth misspelled text," April observed.

"She's scared. Tell her not to call and to keep using her eye drops." Jackson replied to the nurse. Then, on a sudden whim he felt the urge to add, "And tell her that she's beautiful." Maybe that would put a chink in April's sunny disposition. Her happiness didn't seem real to him. She wasn't at ease with him and he wanted to put a crack in this fake facade she was putting up. Ever since the whole "I want you" incident, things just hadn't been the same between them. This was the first time in months that they'd had their usual banter but it didn't feel like old times. It was laced with a hint of bitterness and jealousy.

April shot eyes at him like he'd suddenly grown a third head.

"What?" he barked.

"Who are you? You were never that nice to me when I would spin out."

Jackson winced internally as memories of her Jesus freak outs assaulted him all at once. "Maybe I'm trying to be a better boyfriend now."

April shrugged her shoulders. "No, it helped that you weren't nice. It helped me get my act together. I'm getting married and I'm saving this guy's life and his face."

Jackson had to unconsciously loosen his death grip on the scalpel. Her life was perfect so why'd she have to keep rubbing it in his face? Trying to lighten the mood, he joked, "And that's all because of me?"

April made a sound that clearly meant "as if."

"I did all of this despite you. There's this country song called "I'm A Survivor" that I really relate to after all the crap that happened after the Boards."

So she was going the passive aggressive route was she? Two could play that game. "What'd you have to survive April? Failing a stupid exam you got to retake? Being rehired? Having a boyfriend that was willing to marry you when you thought you were pregnant?"

He hadn't meant for that last one to slip out. She just….she just _frustrated_ him sometimes. He couldn't let her get to him. He promised himself after what happened with Lexie he wouldn't be that guy. He wouldn't be one of those losers who pined after a girl that would never be his. No, April didn't really want him despite what she'd said just like he didn't want her.

"See there you go again with your brutal honesty. Makes me snap out of my self pity every time. My life could have been so much worse after the Boards. I could have wound up with Karev."

This time Jackson laughed for real. She _could_ have ended up with Karev. That would have had disaster written all over it.

"Jackson, I know things haven't been the same since the bus explosion, but could we try to be friends again? I really miss you."

Gulping, Jackson nodded his head. He had to let go of all this petty jealousy. "Yeah, April. I'm always here for you."


	20. In the Morning, I'm Making Waffles!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt from xLosing Faith: Jackson and Baby Avery playfully fighting over April's waffles after church

"Waffle time!" Cayden shouted as Jackson pulled into the parking lot at Sweet Iron. "Mama! Daddy! We're here! It's time to eat waffles! We haven't eaten waffles in years!"

"Not quite years. It's only been a month," Jackson said, unbuckling his son from his car seat.

April walked to the other side of the car and took out the carrier that held their sleeping newborn daughter, Annabelle Christine. She was the reason they hadn't eaten waffles or attended church in a month.

As they walked inside Sweet Iron, their usual waitress, Sami, smiled. "We haven't seen you in a while. I can tell why now," she said as she approached to get a closer look at the baby. "Isn't she just the cutest? Awww, look at her pink bow. She's got a lot of hair for a one month old."

"You're telling me," April replied. "I think she's going to need a haircut in the next month or two."

Cayden patted his mother's stomach and said, "Can we talk about Annie later, mama? I'm starving."

"Hey, little guy," Sami said to Cayden. "I haven't forgotten about you. Let's get you guys a booth."

Once seated, Sami took out her notepad. "The usual?" she asked.

"Yep," Jackson replied.

"OK. I've got an order of bacon and maple syrup waffles, an order of Nutella waffles and for the little guy, waffles with bananas. I'll be back in a minute with your drinks."

Cayden tapped his father on the shoulder.

"Yeah," Jackson said, turning to look at his son.

"What about Annie? What kind of waffle is she getting?"

April chuckled at her son's question. Jackson looked in her direction expecting his wife to answer. "Don't look at me," she replied. "You're the one he asked."

"Well, little man, Annie's a little young for waffles. It's gonna be a couple of years before she can have any. She's not big like you yet."

Jackson prayed that his explanation was enough. He really didn't feel like explaining the process of breastfeeding in the middle of a diner. Cayden had thrown some curious looks at April and Annie over the past few weeks but had never asked any questions up until this point.

His prayers weren't going to be answered today though. His son went on to ask. "What _does_ Annie eat? She don't eat with us ever. Babies don't need food?"

"They do need food. Annie eats milk right now," Jackson explained.

As Sami set their drinks down on the table, Cayden took his glass of milk and leant across the table. "Here you go, Annie, you can share with me."

"No, no, no, no, Cayden," April gasped as she reached for the glass of milk. Setting it back down on the table, she said, "Cayden bear, you are being a great big brother, but Annie drinks a special kind of milk that only mama gives her, OK? You don't need to worry about sharing with her. That's your milk. Just for you."

Cayden nodded his head, his bottom lip sticking out a bit, and tears starting to well in his eyes. "I'm sorry, mama."

Jackson ruffled his son's curls. "Little man, no worries. We're not mad at you. Just remember that only a grown up can feed Annie, alright?"

Cayden nodded, still a little dejected.

Rubbing his hands together, Jackson smiled. "Here comes our waffles."

"Yay!" cried Cayden, quickly forgetting the gentle scolding he'd just received.

As his waffles were laid in front of him, Cayden shot a killer smile to the waitress as he said, "Thank you, Sami!" Reaching for his fork, he dug in.

Cayden and Jackson chowed down of their waffles while April took her time with hers. She was a bit distracted. Almost a month after giving birth, she still couldn't take her eyes off her daughter. "Jackson," she said. "I think we are very good at making babies. We've got the most beautiful baby girl and the handsomest little four year old in the world."

"Damn straight," Jackson said in between bites. "What'd you expect? You're gorgeous. I'm…me. There was never any question in my mind that our babies would be cute."

April stuck her tongue at her husband. "You are _so_ vain sometimes."

"I'm not vain, just truthful."

Cayden was scraping his plate, ignoring the conversation his parents were having. Looking up he noticed an untouched waffle on his mom's plate. "Mama," he said. "Can I have your other waffle?"

"Sure, sweetie. Here you go," she said as she handed him her plate.

Finished with his bacon and maple waffle, Jackson stabbed at April's uneaten one.

"Hey, dad! You can't steal it! That's my waffle!" Cayden protested.

"Too bad," Jackson said, cutting off a bite and popping it into his mouth.

Cayden, his eyebrows merging together, stood up and shook his fork at his father. "Not. Another. Bite, daddy," he warned.

"Whatcha you gonna do about it?" Jackson asked, tickling his son under his armpits. "Whatcha you gonna do?"

"Stop, daddy, stop!" Cayden laughed, gasping for breath. "We can share! We can share!"

"That's what I thought you'd say," Jackson said, dividing the waffle in half and putting it on his plate.

He looked up to find his wife shaking her head at him.

"What?" he asked.

"You're really gonna take your son's waffle?"

Jackson shrugged his shoulders. "You knew from the beginning how much I loved waffles. Don't act so surprised."

April sighed and looked down at her daughter. "At least you've got a couple more years before you have to worry about the waffle thief stealing your food."


	21. Want You Back

He wanted her back. It was as simple as that.

Jackson didn't know why he'd even tried to fight it. He was always going to feel this pull towards April. The past couple of months his mind had been consumed with her. They'd agreed to split custody of their daughter, Emma, but when they weren't working it was the three of them together. It was like old times. They were friends again. They were figuring out this whole parenthood thing together. They weren't bitter anymore. Funny how having a blue eyed newborn staring up at you made you forget about all the hurt and pain that her mother had caused. April was the mother of his child. He'd never stopped loving her. He wanted her back and he didn't think it would take much to convince her to take him back.

Jackson watched as April burped a just fed Emma. A gassy sound burst from her birdlike little mouth. "There you go," April whispered.

Jackson stared enraptured at what a wonderful mother April was. Not like it was a surprise or anything. She was a natural. He didn't think he was doing too bad himself. Their daughter seemed content and happy. Not that he was a baby whisperer or anything but he felt that the little gurgles she made were cheerful ones.

"I'm gonna try to get her to fall asleep and then I'll head out," April said as she began to pace back and forth all the while gently bouncing Emma.

"No need to hurry. In fact I was wanting to talk to you about something."

"Sure. What's up?"

"What do you think about us getting back together?" Jackson asked.

"Wait, what?" April asked, stopping in mid-bounce. Emma, not too happy about the sudden cessation of movement, let out a tiny wail. Eying Jackson nervously, April soothed the upset infant.

"I've just been thinking you know. The divorce was a mistake. I was angry and hurt and I let it out on you. We shouldn't have gone through with it. I think we should get remarried."

April opened and closed her mouth at a loss for words. Instead, she kept bouncing Emma.

"Look, if you need some time to process, I understand. This is all kind of sudden. I didn't mean to spring it on you like this but I've been toying with the thought for weeks now. But no rush. Take your time to think about it. It's a big step."

"I don't need time to think, Jackson. I already know what I want," April replied, nuzzling her head against their daughter's soft curls.

A cocky smile spread across Jackson's face. "That soon, huh? When should we plan for it? I vote for a quickie at the courthouse."

After setting their daughter in the swing, April turned to look at him. "Jackson…I…I don't want to get back together with you."

Jackson clenched his jaw and took a step backwards. "Why?" he asked.

"Because I can't stand that kind of heartache again. I need all the energy that I have for our child."

"Heartache? I mean yeah, sure, the divorce was rough, but I didn't divorce you because I didn't love you. I divorced you because I was hurt and thought I needed to get away from you to heal. I was wrong, April. I'm sorry. I never stopped loving you. I want us to be a family. I want us to raise our child together in the same house. Hell, I'd even like another child or two."

April swiped at a stray tear falling down her cheek. "You don't understand Jackson. I can't be with you again. I physically can't do it. It doesn't matter that I love you. I need someone who is in it for the long haul who will honor their marriage vows to stay with me for better or worse. I know. I know I hurt you when I left. I know that. Our divorce really made that crystal clear for me. What I did was unforgivable to you."

Stepping closer, Jackson touched April's arm. "I'm ready to move past that now. Having Emma made me realize that our past shouldn't determine our future. I've forgiven you, April. Let's give us another shot."

Removing herself from his touch, April shook her head. "You don't get it, do you? You always act like I'm the one who decides everything about our relationship, but it's you. You make the big decisions. You get hurt by something I do or say and you cut me out. With the pregnancy scare, you didn't like how I handled the news so we broke up. Then, when I told you that I wanted you, you didn't care. You told me over and over how you didn't want me how you were invested in your relationship with Stephanie. So I move on or try to and then you stop my wedding to Matthew at the last possible minute. We get married. Things go OK until Samuel dies. That tore me apart. It tore us apart. Because I had to leave. I had to go. I came back ready to fight, but you were done. Again, you decided we were done. We were sleeping together again. We were going to counseling. I thought… I thought we were going to make it. Then, you decide, nope she's not what I want and without any warning you serve me divorce papers. Do you think I'm insane or stupid enough to put myself through that a third time? For you to blindside me, to pull the rug out from under me when I think we're fine. I'm human, Jackson. I'm gonna screw up. I'm gonna say something or do something that you don't like or that hurts you. I'm gonna do it and I just can't live a life in constant fear that something I say or do is gonna drive you away again. I can't Jackson. I just can't." Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she whispered, "Now, please, let's just forget we even had this conversation."

"April…" Jackson cried, reaching out for her as she headed to the door. "Let's talk about this."

"No. There's nothing left to talk about. You decided you wanted a divorce. You got what you wanted. And that's the last decision you'll ever make for me."


End file.
